The instant invention pertains to apparatus for mounting a trailer hitch on a vehicle and more particularly to such apparatus which is secured to a vehicle and which includes means for mounting a trailer hitch thereon.
Such apparatus are known in the past. Devices such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,427,062 to Struben; U.S. Pat. No. 2,151,920 to Jandus et al; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,023,823 to Saunders each have a frame which is mounted on a vehicle frame and which is adapted to have a trailer hitch and a bumper mounted thereon. Each of the frames in these prior art devices is adapted to be bolted to the frame of a vehicle. When so mounted, each of the device frames includes a pair of elongate members mounted on the vehicle frame which extend rearwardly and inwardly therefrom. A hitch-mounting portion spans the rear ends of each of the elongate members and is adapted to have a trailer hitch bolted thereto. Such prior art device frames typically include means for mounting a rear vehicle bumper thereon.
Such prior art devices suffer from several deficiencies. First, the frame design is such that force applied thereto in the form of a heavy load under tow tends to distort the frame. Also, past techniques for mounting the bumper on the frame of the prior art apparatus have proved unsatisfactory and have not resulted in the securest possible mounting of the bumper on the frame.
The instant invention includes a substantially planar base having a hole therethrough for receiving a trailer hitch therein. When the apparatus of the invention is mounted on a vehicle, the base is substantially parallel to the road or other surface supporting the vehicle. On each side of the base, a substantially planar plate is connected thereto at an angle of substantially less than ninety degrees to the base. An elongate support bracket is mounted on each of the plates with a longitudinal axis of the brackets being substantially parallel to the base.
In another aspect of the invention, a bumper is fixedly mounted on the base.
The apparatus of the invention presents an advantage over the prior art in that it is less likely to distort when towing a heavy load. Another advantage is that a bumper may be fixedly secured to and supported by the elements of the apparatus which are adapted to support a trailer hitch.